


Fighting Fate

by NamelesslyNightlock



Series: Going Down Swinging [79]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Aliens, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Arguing, Battle, Difficult Decisions, Feels, Fluff, Fluffy Ending, Happy Ending, Loki (Marvel) Does What He Wants, M/M, Mental Link, Muteness, Protective Loki (Marvel), Protective Tony Stark, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Tony Stark Does What He Wants, fuck fate
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-09
Updated: 2020-10-09
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:15:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26912014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NamelesslyNightlock/pseuds/NamelesslyNightlock
Summary: Tony had never worried about the words written on his skin, even though they were the very last words he would ever hear his soulmate say. To be honest, he never thought he’dhaveto worry about them.At least… not until he fell in love with Loki. Then he knew what it was to be afraid.
Relationships: Loki/Tony Stark
Series: Going Down Swinging [79]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1330490
Comments: 51
Kudos: 438
Collections: Marvel





	Fighting Fate

**Author's Note:**

> **Prompt** — _“Be careful.”_

In a world where everyone knows the exact last words that they will ever hear their soulmate say, it’s difficult not to live in fear.

Some people spend their whole lives waiting to hear those words, waiting for the confirmation that they had found their soulmate. There are those who hear their words when they’re old and grey, and they drift off with the knowledge that they truly did live the best lives that they could. There are the bittersweet endings on the other side, those who are left behind but at least knowing they were happy while they could be.

Even though happy endings are more likely than most media would have people believe, many still preferred to cover up the words that were etched across their skin, trying to push the knowledge away, just trying to live their lives without the dark press of the future upon them. But that knowledge isn’t something easily forgotten, and only in the instances where those words were too generic – a ‘love you’, a ‘goodbye’, or a ‘see you later’ – had Tony heard of people truly not knowing the very moment that they had heard their words.

Some said it was a curse to have something so simple, to never be able to know. But Tony thought he would prefer it.

Of course, it is always impossible to know who your soulmate is until the very end, and Tony… he wondered for a while whether he would hear those words spoken by Rhodey. There was no one else he could imagine trusting as much as he did his best friend, no one else who knew how to make him smile quite like Rhodey did. But he came to admit that the words didn’t match anything that Rhodey would say, and even though he couldn’t know for _sure_ … he was near certain that Rhodey wasn’t it. At least that took a little pain out of the situation, since he would never have to _know_ when Rhodey was about to leave him for good.

But while Tony wondered, sometimes, what that must feel like, to hear your lover or your spouse or your best friend say something over their shoulders as they leave for work or a holiday or as they climb into their car, and to realise that you will never see that person again…

He didn’t actually believe it would be something he’d ever feel himself. As he grew older, he figured he was running out of time to find his soulmate. He didn’t worry over his words, he didn’t care, and they didn’t _hurt._

At least… not until he fell in love with Loki.

When they met for the second time, with Loki shackled and chained and yet somehow still able to look down at everyone else with scorn, the pair of them snapped together like two broken pieces of a puzzle. Everything Tony knew told him that it shouldn’t have been so easy, but in barely any time they were bickering like they had known each other for years, and Tony had started to trust Loki as much as, and then _more than,_ any of the other Avengers. Soon their causal touches turned into lingering kisses, and they found themselves curled together every moment they could– because they didn’t only make each other feel safe, but they pushed each other to feel more _alive_ than either of them had in years.

It wasn’t long at all before Tony’s love for Loki burned bright and fierce and all consuming, and he couldn’t imagine a thing that could ever be stronger.

And then… well. _Then_ he came to know what it was to feel fear.

Their lives were dangerous, and there were some moments when Loki opened his mouth that Tony would feel _terrified_ , that he would draw in a sharp breath that he couldn’t hide. When he would wonder whether the words Loki was about to say would be his last.

Most of the time, though, being with Loki made Tony feel like they were going to last forever. How could they not, when being with Loki made everything that little bit brighter, made life just that little bit more exciting?

There were even moments when Tony could forget about the words, when he was happy or engrossed enough that they no longer mattered, when the future faded away and all that he needed was the here and now. Those moments came when their bodies were entangled, their skin sliding together with a pleasure that wiped away all else. When they were holding each other, even fully clothed, just enjoying the simple intimacy and happiness of sharing the same space. Sometimes, it was when they were laughing together in the workshop, or when Loki was half asleep and his unguarded smile was the most beautiful thing that Tony had ever seen. Or sometimes, those moments came with the adrenaline surging though Tony’s veins, when every heartbeat pounded in his ears as loudly as the charge of his repulsors, when he soared through the sky and fought at Loki’s side.

It was another alien invasion, another fight where the numbers were completely against the Avengers’ favour. For every creature Tony knocked down, another would rise up and take its place. He tried to keep Loki in his sights, tried to stay as close as he could, but he was air support and Loki was flitting around the battlefield, never staying in one place for long.

Tony spun through the air, firing off his repulsors, his missiles, his lasers, but no matter what he did it didn’t seem to make enough of a difference. They weren’t winning, but they weren’t losing either– at least, not yet. They were keeping the city from being overrun, but not getting rid of enough to stem the flow entirely, either.

Tony had just cleared Union Square and was sweeping back up north when he saw a flash of green amongst a mess of bodies, and he turned to see Loki on the ground and about to get swamped. The aliens were too close to risk firing at them, so he charged in head first, tackling a few to the ground and causing enough of a distraction for Loki to sweep out with his seiðr, taking out the rest.

“Anthony,” Loki said, arching a brow. “That was reckless, you need to be careful.”

“It worked, didn’t it?” Tony snapped back, stowing his helmet just so that he could give Loki the glare that he deserved.

“I have never seen such an arrogant act of stupidity!”

“Hey, I just saved your ass—”

“And risked your own! I don’t ever want you to exchange your safety for mine—”

“It’s not an exchange since it _worked,_ and even if it didn’t—”

“Nothing shall ever be worth you being harmed—”

They both stopped, and stared at each other. Loki’s eyes were wide, horrified, and Tony knew that his were the same—

Because those were the words they had written into their skin, the words that were the last they would ever hear from each other. They had both been speaking quickly, caught in the moment, clearly not thinking about what they were saying—

And now, they were near the _end_.

Loki surged forward before Tony could react, slamming his hand over Tony’s mouth. His eyes were wide and frantic, his own lips pressed tightly together as if he were afraid of speaking again.

Then Tony felt the familiar touch of Loki’s mind against his own. Loki didn’t speak with _words,_ because mental communication didn’t work that way. Instead, Tony just felt the press of emotion and _intent_ , but he knew Loki well enough that it only took him a fraction of a second to understand.

Loki wanted to make it so that neither of them would ever be able to talk again, so that they could try and _beat_ this– because if those words _had to be_ their last… then so long as they remained silent, neither of them had to die.

Tony gave his agreement immediately, because if there was a chance to beat fate in this then he was never going to give it up—

And then he felt Loki’s seiðr pass through his body, taking his voice away.

It was for the best. It was the _only_ chance they had.

The moment Loki was done, he replaced his hand with his lips, kissing Tony with a desperate kind of need that only made everything feel worse. Tony kissed him back for the few seconds he could spare before the street began to heave with the next wave of aliens, before they were forced to break apart and once again begin fighting for their lives.

If fate had its way, it would be their final kiss. But neither Tony nor Loki were the kind of person who would ever allow to fate dictate them.

Tony could hear Steve and the other Avengers talking in his ears, but he didn’t, _couldn’t_ respond to them. He let JARVIS keep the others updated, and focused merely on staying alive, on keeping _Loki_ alive and by his side.

Loki stopped using his magic to teleport across the city– he still used to it avoid blows and to keep Tony safe, but they never strayed far from each other, not like they had before. And perhaps their spoken words had been enough of a warning, enough for them to notice threats that they might not have seen otherwise. Perhaps in prompting them to stick together, fate had inadvertently saved the lives of one or both of them.

Either way, Tony did not think he had ever felt such relief as he did the moment he heard Cap’s voice announcing that the aliens were all gone, that they had won the fight.

Loki’s arms were around Tony’s armoured waist in a moment, and then they were both tumbling through the space between worlds and landing in their penthouse. Tony fell out of his suit and Loki removed his own armour, then they clung to each other with the kind of hunger that could only come from thinking they might never have this again. Loki was in Tony’s head again, and Tony embraced that as well, letting the torrent of emotion and feeling wrap around him. Love and devotion and crippling relief flowed between them, that more than enough to bring them both to their knees, their legs giving way but their arms remaining around each other.

The battle was over, it was won. Loki’s gambit had paid off. Tony wondered if maybe they could lower the spell now, could just say something else– because that would reset the clock, wouldn’t it? That would mean the words weren’t their last—

At least… not yet.

Because winding back the clock only meant that they would have to live through the pain again, at some point, during some other battle, maybe. Always looking over their shoulder, always waiting to hear the words that would lead to the death of the one they loved. Of their _soulmate_.

Tony pulled back from the hug just enough to catch Loki’s gaze, pushing his thoughts forward as best as he could.

_Let’s stay this way. Let’s beat this._

Loki’s eyes widened, but he wasn’t immediately disapproving. He was _considering_ it.

It would be hard, of course it would be, because they both put a lot of stock in their skill with words. Tony knew that Loki especially prided himself in his ability to manipulate someone with pretty speeches and well-placed suggestions, and it would be difficult to lose that. But if they made sure that they never heard each other say anything else, if those truly were the last words they spoke…

Well. It would mean that they’d found a loophole. For so long as they never said anything else, those words would always remain the last… and they would never know when their end was nearing.

They would never again have to live in fear.

And oh, Tony was sure he would be able to build a device that would allow them to communicate aloud– he could already see half the blueprints in his mind, something that might read the vibrations in their throat but which would never form words in their own voice. That way, they might still be able to talk to others.

But when they spoke to each other, they would be able to clasp their hands together and speak with the touch of their minds, not using words and yet understanding more regardless– just as they were now.

Sure, Tony would miss being able to ramble at Loki, he would miss being able to hear Loki’s voice. It wasn’t hard to predict that there would be moments when he would go to talk, and the words would stick in his throat.

But in that moment, when Tony closed his eyes and he thought of the words that were branded along the line of Loki’s hip, words he had traced with trembling fingers, wondering if he would be the one to say them…

He could only smile.

Because yeah, maybe he would never speak again, and maybe Loki wouldn’t either. The risk was too high otherwise, because if either of them heard a word from the other then it would send them hurtling back toward the horror of ignorance, back to the time when they would spend every moment being afraid.

The way Tony saw it, they were _lucky._ Far luckier than most.

They hadn’t _needed_ the confirmation, but they now knew for sure that they had found their soulmate. To have both that and a life without fear, where they could simply live and _love_ and never have to be afraid of whatever the other was about to say felt nothing short of gift.

When Tony opened his eyes again, it was to find Loki staring at him, his green eyes shining with emotion. Tony realised that their minds were still brushing together, that Loki had been able to feel every thought. Tony smiled, leaning forward– and Loki met him half way, their lips brushing together in a gentle promise as they sealed their decision.

They had never been the sort of people who liked to follow the rules, and almost by accident they had managed to circumvent fate itself. They were free now to write their own story, and in Tony’s opinion?

What they had gained was worth far more than what they had lost.


End file.
